ABSTRACT
I have argued in this book that the research agenda of politics in post-communist Europe has been informed by democratic consolidation. I do not contend that specific theories related to either the transition to democracy or democratic consolidation have dominated the field. Rather, my point is that the various arenas and approaches associated with the general contours of the paradigm have determined the limits of the discipline’s concerns. Even those who have found the theories of little utility have followed the research agenda established by the paradigm. This has provided the study of post-communist politics with a substantial degree of focus. At the same time, many equally important issues have been largely ignored. The more serious problem, however, is that scholars have tended to assume that democratization as a process is a virtually endless one. This is accounted for by the paradigmatic shortcomings of democratic consolidation, which starting from the very definition of a consolidated democracy provides us with no theoretically coherent means for judging the end of the process.
